We curate a digest of the latest news in our field for advocates, policymakers, community coalitions and all who work toward shaping policies and practices to effectively prevent substance use and treat addiction.
Almost half of parents whose child had unused prescription opioid painkillers left over from a surgery or illness keep the medication at home, a new poll finds.
Employers report they are having difficulty finding workers who can pass a pre-employment drug test, The New York Times reports.
As the United States tackles the challenge of opioid painkiller addiction, people in many parts of the world are suffering from pain because doctors are reluctant to prescribe opioids.
The opioid crisis is fueling the problem of elder abuse, as adult children who are addicted to drugs exploit parents and other relatives, experts tell The Boston Globe.
A group of primary care clinics in West Virginia has an anesthesiologist on staff to treat patients with chronic pain, in an attempt to reduce prescription opioid addiction.
The U.S. House on Wednesday passed 10 bills designed to fight opioid addiction. They are part of a package of 18 bills expected to be approved this week, USA Today reports.
Most jails and prisons do not provide medication-assisted treatment for opioid addiction. Experts tell NPR that for inmates who are forced to detox from methadone, tolerance for opioids decreases, while cravings increase. This raises their risk of overdose after they are released.
Problematic drinking is more likely among Asian Americans born in the United States compared with those born abroad, a review of studies finds. Overall, the prevalence of alcohol abuse among Asian Americans ages 18 to 25 increased fivefold between 1991 and 2002.
Top headlines of the week from Friday, May 6- Thursday, May 12, 2016.
The unfortunate reflex for most doctors when they hear complaints of pain is to simply write a prescription for narcotic pain medications. There are more than enough alternatives to opioids when treating pain and pain management specialists are trained to work with patients to offer these solutions, explains Dr. Corey Hunter of The Ainsworth Institute of Pain Management.
The news that Prince was rescued from an overdose of the painkiller Percocet with the drug naloxone six days before he died underscores the challenge of using the life-saving tool, public health experts tell The Wall Street Journal.
The U.S. House is scheduled this week to vote on 18 bills designed to combat opioid addiction. The measures are expected to be approved, The New York Times reports.
A new study estimates that a 10 percent reduction in the U.S. smoking rate would result in $63 billion in savings in healthcare costs one year later.
A case of “chemsex” in the news in Britain highlights the dangers of intentional sex under the influence of psychoactive drugs, mostly among men who have sex with men. The case involves a London lawyer who supplied his boyfriend with a cocktail of drugs, which he overdosed on, according to CNN.
Poison control centers around the country have seen a sharp increase in calls about young children’s exposure to e-cigarettes. The biggest threat appears to be ingestion of liquid nicotine, HealthDay reports.
Many people who abuse drugs or alcohol are self-medicating chronic pain, a new study suggests. Researchers at Boston University studied 589 people who fit the criteria for drug abuse or illicit drug use, and found 87 percent reported chronic pain. More than half of these patients said they were self-medicating.
A study using brain scans suggests prayer may help Alcoholics Anonymous members reduce cravings.
A new report by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety concludes there is no scientific basis for setting legal limits for marijuana and driving. These limits are arbitrary and unsupported by science, the group says.
Prince’s addiction to opioid painkillers, which has come to light since his death, was hidden from even some of his closest friends, The New York Times reports.
The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday announced it is extending its oversight to all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, Reuters reports. The agency will ban sales of e-cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco and hookah tobacco to people under age 18.
A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel on Wednesday voted to recommend requiring doctors who prescribe opioids to receive training. Doctors’ groups have resisted mandatory training.
Hillary Clinton this week said she supports a plan by Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia to levy a tax on prescription opioids. Manchin says the tax would raise up to $2 billion annually, which would be used to expand access to opioid addiction treatment.
Top headlines of the week from Friday, April 29- Thursday, May 5, 2016.
Drug management programs that require at-risk individuals to use designated pharmacies or physicians for opioid prescriptions can protect patients from using harmful amounts of opioids while ensuring they still receive appropriate amounts of pain medication, according to the lead author of a new report on the programs.
Some people are using the anti-diarrhea drug loperamide (Imodium) to manage their opioid addiction or to get high, researchers report in this week’s Annals of Emergency Medicine. The results can be deadly, according to NPR.
Get Support
